Torn Between Lies
by WishingDreamer5
Summary: Tifa's trying to do anything to keep Cloud home today, but now that she's suddenly trapped between him and the couch, it gets a little hard. And the fact that she only smells Cloud's aftershave, doesn't make matters easier for her. God, he smells good!


**A/N: I'm back with the Cloti stuff! I know, not my best, but it'll get better with a little practise. Hope you like! :)**

**Thanks: M. L. Ayala, my beta reader.**

* * *

><p><em>~ She didn't dare to get up, now that she was trapped between the couch and Cloud, who towered high above her like a threatening skyscraper. ~<em>

* * *

><p>For minutes, all Tifa could see, was a black and yellow flurry, dancing around the house at (an inhuman) top speed, like an angry and dangerous typhoon. It was a good thing that the children were still upstairs, because Marlene would probably get a little scared of the blonde man's actions and Denzel might even go far enough to actually mimic him, since Cloud had always been his great example. She sighed, wearily, because she knew that it would start in three... two... one...<p>

"Tifa."

_And there you had it_, Tifa thought almost triumphantly, a small smirk gracing her lips.

Cloud was _so_ predictable sometimes that it was almost funny, especially because he still didn't believe so when she told him sometimes.

"Tif-"

"I'm here!" the raven-haired woman swiftly cried, so he would know where to look.

She didn't move, letting him come to her, instead. His heavy-sounding footsteps indicated that he was marching down the stairs, approaching her.

When he finally found her, he inquired with a solemn look on his face, "Teef, where are my keys?"

Tifa decided to play dumb to see what he would do next (some of his reactions were absolutely priceless). "What keys?" she asked, even though she knew full well what keys he was talking about.

"Fenrir's," he replied, growing slightly impatient by now.

Tifa tried not to smirk. After all, what other keys could he be talking about at the moment?

"Oh, I don't know, maybe in your pockets?" she replied, almost sarcastically, with a roll of her wine-colored eyes.

Cloud shook his head, a small frown appearing on his forehead. "No, they're not there and I already looked everywhere else, except-"

Cloud's voice faltered, and his striking blue eyes seemed to glow faintly when he fixed his gaze on her. Slowly, he started approaching her, his black, shiny boots making soft thuds on the wooden floor. The look on his face was dangerously unreadable. Yet, it was giving her goosebumps, as if she was in trouble.

Instantly, Tifa sensed that something was wrong, so she started backing away at the same pace that he stepped towards her, trying to close the gap between them. "Cloud, what are you-"

She had no time to finish her sentence, though, because right then and to her great surprise, her shins made contact with the side of the couch and she fell backwards on it. Thank heavens the thing was soft, otherwise she would have gotten hurt, too. Less than a second later, spiky blond hair appeared in her vision, followed by the bluest eyes she had ever seen. She didn't dare to get up, now that she was trapped (like a mouse) between the couch and Cloud, who towered high above her like a threatening skyscraper.

"I want to know where they are. Tell me, Tifa... Did you take them?"

Tifa gasped, softly but still audibly. She was busted... She could read in his striking electric blue eyes that he already knew that she had them, but he probably liked to hear it from herself first... but how did he guess that so quickly? Did she really need to work on her poker face?

This time, she couldn't get away from him; his hands, on either side of her head on the couch, were barring her, making it unable for her to even move, let alone escape, so she didn't even try. She just hoped that the kids - or even worse: Reno - wouldn't walk in on them now. It would only give them the wrong impression, she was fairly sure of that. And the fact that her nostrils were filled with Cloud's aftershave, didn't make matters easier for her. God, he smelled _good_.

"Give me my keys... _now_."

From his voice she could tell that he wouldn't tolerate any jokes and lies anymore. When his face came very close to hers, less than an inch away, she couldn't help it when a panicked sound escaped from her throat.

With her eyes closed, because she couldn't take it anymore to look into his piercing, razor sharp eyes, she said, "They're in my pocket."

Cloud didn't say anything when he checked her pockets to find the items he was looking for. Meanwhile, Tifa was holding her breath, very well aware of how warm his hand felt against her leg, even through the fabric of her shorts, and his leather glove. She was also fairly sure that she was blushing a crimson red by now. It was as though the warmth slowly spread through the rest of her body, taking its time and making the tips of her fingers tingle with a feeling of bliss and... euphoria?

"...Thanks," he finally said, when he fished the motor keys out of her pocket in one swift move.

When he wanted to leave again, he noticed that Tifa still had her eyes closed. Her long, dark lashes reminded him of soft little feathers. Cloud couldn't help but smirk slightly. He seemed to have that effect on her a lot lately, just like she had a certain impact on him. He leaned down, pressing a soft, lingering kiss to her slightly parted lips, before he straightened and retreated.

He knew that the kiss came as a complete surprise for Tifa, since she wasn't looking, but despite that fact, she wouldn't slap him. After all, she had never slapped him before when they kissed... except that very first time when she really was taken by surprise (that woman could punch harder than most men!).

When Tifa felt him move away, taking the warmth that he provided her with him, she finally breathed out. So much for trying to keep him home, then... Perhaps she should try it again, tomorrow.

Just wait a minute, he wouldn't get away with it that easily! So he thought that a kiss could distract her, huh? (Which it did, to be quite honest.) Well, he was definitely wrong about that!

Since Cloud had left the room already, he wasn't aware that Tifa was getting mad at him now. The raven-haired woman swiftly left the room to catch Cloud before he would leave. She would show him!

"Okay, then go. It's obvious now, you don't care about this family at all! And neither do you care about us..."

Before Cloud could say anything about her accusation, Tifa had run upstairs to her bedroom. She opened her bedroom door and fell face-first in her pillow, on her bed, facing away the door.

Being mildly aware that her pillow smelled like her favorite shampoo (lavender), she clenched and unclenched her hands into fists. With the sound of the kids waking up in the background, Tifa let her thoughts race, faster than a train. The guy was so _impossible_ sometimes! Stubborn was even an understatement here. It almost made her want to strangle him on moments like these. Not that she would actually succeed, but still... The idea was there. It seemed that Cloud had no idea that she was doing this for his own good. Tifa knew that he was aware of the storm that was about to come, they had both seen it on the news. That was the only reason why she wanted him to stay inside today, with her. Doing deliveries just wasn't the smartest thing to do. Didn't he understand?

Tifa was too deeply engrossed with her own angry thoughts about Cloud to notice that the man in question had quietly entered her bedroom. For a moment, he just stood there in the doorway, watching her slender form and her long black hair that fell like a curtain over most part of her face. He had never seen her this angry before and it sure was unnerving. It made his insides twist painfully to see her this pained, but what could he do about that?

"Tifa?" he started softly as not to startle or aggravate her.

After all, women were _incredibly_ dangerous when they were mad like this (he spoke out of experience) and women who could kick ass like her were double trouble.

The owner of that name didn't move, not acknowledging that she had heard him. However, Cloud didn't give up just like that. He slowly made his way over to the bed and sat down on the edge of it. That made the bed creak slightly and sag under the newly added weight, but he ignored it.

"Listen, I know that you're a little mad now," he stopped, trying to recollect his thoughts. 'A little' was the understatement of the year here. "But I can't cancel work. Especially not now... I'm sorry."

Reaching over slightly, he started stroking her long, silky smooth hair. When he still didn't get a reaction from her, he decided to try something new. Cloud first took off one of his black leather gloves. He then started moving his gloveless fingers up over the length her arm, slowly, like a spider that was trying to get higher, but with feather light touches.

_What the heck is he doing?_ Tifa wondered, utterly perplexed at this uncharacteristic behavior of his.

The movement tickled slightly, but it felt quite pleasant, too, so she didn't tell him to stop it. Instead, she closed her eyes and concentrated on the feeling.

She didn't have much time to come up with an answer, because at that moment, Cloud started to explain why he couldn't cancel his work. Tifa honestly didn't care. What she didn't know, though, was that Cloud was actually saving money for an extra long vacation with Tifa and the kids. The reason he couldn't tell her was because it was supposed to be a surprise for them. He didn't want to spoil it.

When Tifa still didn't say anything, Cloud sighed lightly and decided to go downstairs. He would talk to her when he got back... if she still would let him enter the house, that is. Sure, Tifa wasn't really the type to let a man sleep in the garage (or worse: outside in the backyard) when she was mad, but sometimes he feared that he had gone far enough to make her consider such drastic measures.

Meanwhile, Tifa sat up, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. She knew that what she was going to do next was really low (making him feel guiltier than ever wasn't really fair towards him, especially after all he had been through), but she had to give it a try. It was her last trump to make him stay and if this couldn't keep him home, then nothing would. She just hoped that Denzel and Marlene would buy it, too, and play along with her.

After making up her mind, Tifa quickly got out of her bed again and left the bedroom. When she ran off the stairs to catch Cloud before he would leave, Tifa saw that she was right in time.

She breathed in deeply, before calling out to him, "Cloud!"

Mildly surprised by hearing her voice again, the spiky-haired man turned around to face her. What he didn't expect, though, was to see her in tears. It made his heart shatter into a thousand pieces, because he couldn't stand that sight. Heck, he bet that no man could stand it!

When the first tears ran over her cheeks slowly, Denzel and Marlene decided to come downstairs. Unfortunately for Cloud, they immediately noticed that something was wrong. The look on Cloud's face was neutral, as always, so they shifted their gazes to Tifa's face instead.

At once, Marlene gasped in shock. Cloud guessed that seeing the woman in front of her cry was definitely a first for her.

"What did you do to make her cry?" Marlene asked immediately, shocked to see the always so strong Tifa so broken-hearted.

"Nothing! I just-" Cloud started, raising his hands up in defense, before he got interrupted.

"Make it up to her, then!" Denzel said, almost angrily.

If Cloud was surprised by that, he knew very well how to hide it, because his face stayed expressionless.

"How?" he asked.

"Stay home!" the children cried simultaneously, almost as if they had been practicing it all this time... as if they had listened in on their conversation earlier.

Cloud wouldn't be too surprised if they actually had.

"But-" he started, only to be interrupted again.

"No 'ifs' and 'buts,' Mister! It's obviously _your_ fault that she's so upset, so you should solve it, too," Marlene swiftly cried, pointing an accusing finger to him.

Tifa would probably have said the very same, if she had stood in Marlene's shoes.

Great, so the kids were both on her side? He guessed that that was what he got for not being home often enough; nobody trusted him anymore, no matter what he said or did. It looked like he had no other choice than to do what they said, too, if he wanted to get out of this alive.

"Fine... I'll stay."

He had barely said those three magical words when Tifa walked up to him and gave him a firm hug. Cloud, being at a loss of words, returned the embrace after a short moment. This made both Denzel and Marlene grin, as they exchanged a glance. At least the kids were happy... It seemed that the holiday had to wait for a little while now.

"Come on, I'll make you breakfast," Tifa then spoke to Denzel and Marlene.

She took Cloud's gloved hand and lead him away, too.

It didn't take the spiky-haired man too long, though, to realize that maybe, just maybe, he had been fooled by her.


End file.
